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Preserve Arkansas Receives Grant for Bigelow Rosenwald School

Arkansas Historic Preservation Program - Thursday, January 25, 2018

The National Trust for Historic Preservation has awarded Preserve Arkansas a $2,500 grant from the Arkansas Preservation Services Fund. These grant
funds, along with matching funds from the Rosenwald Community Cultural Center, will be used to hire a preservation architect to evaluate the current
condition of the 1926 Bigelow Rosenwald School, prioritize needs, and provide cost estimates for rehabilitation of the structure.

Located at the southwest corner of Arkansas Highway 60 and Bethel AME Road in Perry County, Arkansas, the Bigelow Rosenwald School was constructed
in 1926 as part of a national building program made possible by the Julius Rosenwald Fund to improve African American educational opportunities
throughout the South. Bigelow’s school was one of 389 schools and associated buildings constructed in Arkansas with help from the Rosenwald Fund.
Only 18 of those buildings remain today. The Bigelow Rosenwald School was included in Preserve Arkansas's 2012 list of Arkansas's Most Endangered
Historic Places, making its restoration a priority for the organization.

"Organizations like Preserve Arkansas help to ensure that communities and towns all across America retain their unique sense of place," said Stephanie
Meeks, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. "We are honored to provide a grant to Preserve Arkansas, which will use the funds
to help preserve an important piece of our shared national heritage."

Grants from the National Trust Preservation Funds generally range from $2,500 to $5,000 and have provided over $15 million since 2003.
These matching grants are awarded to nonprofit organizations and public agencies across the country to support wide-ranging activities including
consultant services for rehabilitating buildings, technical assistance for tourism that promotes historic resources, and the development of materials
for education and outreach campaigns.

For more information on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Preservation Fund grants, visit:

Preserve Arkansas is the only statewide nonprofit dedicated to the preservation of Arkansas’s historic and cultural resources. Preserve Arkansas works
to build stronger communities by reconnecting Arkansans to our heritage and empowering people to save and rehabilitate historic places. For more
information, please visit www.PreserveArkansas.org or call 501-372-4757.

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The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program identifies, evaluates, registers, and preserves the state's historic and cultural resources and seeks to instill a preservation ethic in future generations of Arkansans. The agency also houses the Main Street Arkansas program, which works with local communities to revitalize downtown commercial areas.